Pulling it All Together

As I write this I’m coming into the final stretch on Doc Vandal book 4, Giant Robots of Tunguska. Everyone’s in a bad situation, even the characters who don’t realize it, and it’s time to pull all the threads together.

Some writers plan everything out with a detailed outline so they know exactly what’s going to happen next: I’m not one of those writers. I have a rough outline and I know where I want all the pieces to end up. What I don’t know is exactly how they’re going to get there.

It’s also where I go back and look for any dangling plot threads I need to tie up. This would be a ton easier if I could just stick to my outline, but I can’t. The story I end up with is never exactly what I planned.

However, not knowing exactly where I’ll end up and how I’ll get there helps make the writing fun. It’s like reading the book to find out what happens, only much slower.